For lunch I had a grilled mushroom salad, courtesy of the El Hato garden. During vacation camp we planted an herb garden in a planter outside of the kitchen and some leafy greens in the flower garden at the school entrance. There was some local skepticism of whether vegetables should be planted near flowers, but since no good reason was presented for them not to be, we tried it anyway. Gloria, who lives across the street offered to water the garden during Christmas break.

We were welcomed on Monday with some beautiful heads of lettuce and some large, but mostly eaten kale plants. There must have been a very hungry caterpillar who thought these leaves were a Christmas gift. The mushroom house was abandoned for the break, but when we went to clean it out for the new year there was a lonely ½ pound bunch of mushrooms hanging around waiting to be harvested. Since the kitchen won’t be up and running for a few more weeks we decided to try the vegetables out ourselves.

Without much effort, what was once dry orange soil is becoming richer and more conducive to life. It feels really good to grow food and eat it. I have high hopes that the school garden will be contributing to the school breakfast this year.

-Salina

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.

I’ve been leading carpentry classes for the past month, and unexpectedly, it’s a lot like teaching yoga. You need to be present and focused. What is the alignment of the body in relationship to the tool? At what angle does the tool touch the wood?

I have always been the substitute teacher during times of teacher shortages. I can cover any course we offer, maybe not exactly the way it was intended to be, but I can put something together and it usually works out pretty well. When the carpentry teacher quit with only a few months left in the year and I asked around and couldn’t find a quick replacement, I panicked. How could I teach carpentry? I surely wasn’t qualified. I had never used a power tool. Then, I remembered that wasn’t true. I did use a jigsaw in 7th grade shop class and I recall enjoying it.

With the help of Donald, a long-term Earth Lodge volunteer, the carpentry workshop could not have gone better. We all learned together. We each brought a small piece to the table. Donald has the carpentry experience and I have the teaching experience. Our students ranging in ages from 13 to 23 each come with their own skill set and experience.

The students help us with our Spanish and of course I like throw in some English. I’m impressed with the way the students work together and teach each other. The school year has now come to an end, but we’re all looking forward to 2016.

-Salina

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.

In Guatemala we say that our first school is the family because that’s where we learn our values. It’s wonderful when families visit us and demonstrate their interest in the children in our school and above all teach their own children to share.

Recently we had visits from two families: the Knaus family from the United States and the Wrench family from Australia. These two families learned about our history and our work, shared classes with the children, and made donations to the school.

To these families and to other people who have visited us, we thank you for your donations, as it gives the children the opportunity to advance. And if you would like to visit us, contact Salina Duncan (lasmanosdc@gmail.com). We look forward to seeing you!

-Alejandra Shoc (translated by Pete McManus)

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.

Being a girl is one of the most wonderful stages in the life of a woman, and for that reason we are running the program SERniña in our library. It is being taught by Danielle, a Canadian who, with the aid of constructive activities and conversations, is giving the girls a safe place to express themselves freely and without fear.

SERniña is an empowerment program that deals with key problems that affect the self-esteem of Guatemalan girls. The idea is to inspire and guide them to discover their true selves and to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to make life decisions informed by self-knowledge, self-respect and strength.

-Alejandra Shoc (translated by Pete McManus)

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.

Physical education teacher Luisa Sánchez dreams that her students will participate for the first time in a rhythmic gymnastics competition that takes place at the regional level. She hopes that someday the currently unknown school José Ignacio Ortiz Vides will be known for such accomplishments.

To realize her dream, Luisa needs to raise money to cover the expenses that such a presentation requires. For that reason, she held a charity fair at the school. In the fair, the children were able to enjoy games, a lottery, dance, food, a clothing sale, and movies.

-Alejandra Shoc (translated by Pete McManus)

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.

Although he doesn’t live in Guatemala, this volunteer is a part of our team. Pete visited the facilities of Las Manos de Christine for the first time three years ago, working as a volunteer in our summer school and helping us with the first Las Manos Fest fundraiser.

Since then it seems that he has become captivated by the affection and friendliness of the children of El Hato and by the work we perform with them and for them. Now, each time Pete comes to Guatemala he volunteers here and is known and recognized by the teachers, students and community. Additionally, he helps us with our internet site.

Personally I can say that he is a person who is intelligent, friendly and investigative, because he doesn’t leave questions unsettled; first he investigates and inquires, then he gives his opinion.

Besides these qualities, he has the patience necessary for teaching and helping children and youth. And so, it seems that Pete has found in Guatemala a reason to keep returning …

-Alejandra Shoc (translated with both pride and embarrassment by Pete McManus)

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.

One of the library activities that is being promoted is the use of RACHEL, a digital library that offers a huge variety of educational content without the need for an internet connection.

For now, we have simply encouraged the students to investigate the program in order to awaken their interest and curiosity about it. Later we will be doing specific projects with each capability of the RACHEL system so that the students can master each one.

So far, the educational games have been the most popular part of RACHEL. Meanwhile, the most difficult aspect of using it has been the general use of computers, given that this is the first time some students have used one and the others still need a lot of practice.

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.

A beautiful name for a beautiful person who, despite being an adolescent, concerns herself with helping other people. Alexandra is characterized by the friendliness, education and contributions that she brings each time she visits us. In her latest visit she helped with two boxes that contained toys, books and encyclopedias for the library.

This young woman takes the time to hold collection drives for Las Manos with her friends and family, and each time she comes to Guatemala she works here as a volunteer.

We thank Alexandra’s parents for supporting her and permitting her to do these things, and we congratulate them for teaching her the values that make her such an excellent person.

-Alejandra Shoc (translated by Pete McManus)

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.

Reading and writing are indispensable tools for all people and although it might seem incredible, El Hato is still a community that struggles against illiteracy even though it is only ten minutes from Antigua, one of the main cities of Guatemala.

Because of illiteracy, lack of interest and the high cost of buying books when families can barely afford to buy food, Las Manos de Christine took the initiative in creating a library that is accessible not only to students but also to the community itself.

Last year, thanks to donations received and to the help of various volunteers, we introduced a new method of classifying the library books. Easily implemented, everyone knows how to use this simple method. Now the library not only has books donated to Las Manos de Christine but also houses the books of and donated directly to the El Hato public school, José Ignacio Oritz Vides.

The system incorporates a way to distinguish the books owned by the school from those owned by Las Manos, and so has grown enormously, benefitting everyone who needs it.

The library is now the center of many activities, including: the lending of books; the lending of computers for research; the lending of encyclopedias and other reference works; English classes; library classes; art projects; the lending of games and toys; workshops; etc. It also serves as the headquarters for the activities of volunteers.

Thanks to the donors and volunteers, both foreign and local, we can boast a properly-organized and growing library.

-Alejandra Shoc (translated by Pete McManus)

Help Las Manos help the El Hato community. Volunteer with us when you’re in Antigua, or donate here.